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NewsHour
Backgrounders
June 10, 1997:
A Gergen dialogue
with William Broad about his book "The Universe Below."
April 10, 1997:
NASA scientists explain the
findings from Europa.
Browse the NewsHour's science
coverage.
Outside
Links
Browse stories from the New York Times by William J. Broad and others on Europa. (note:
free, but registration is required.)
Browse Simon & Schusters' page on "The Universe Below: Discovering the Secrets of the Deep Sea."
|
 The
Online NewsHour asks:
There was much fanfare when it was announced that a meteorite from
Mars was found on Earth containing what some say were signs of extraterrestrial
life. Alternative explanations for those signs, however, have been
forwarded. What is the current state of research on the meteorite?
Is the jury still out?
William Broad responds:
Yes. The debate rages on, and might for years. There seems to be no
easy way to render a definitive judgement. Since the study was published
in Science magazine last summer, a dozen or so scientific papers
have been presented, both for and against the fossil-life hypothesis. Richard
Zare, a chemist at Stanford University who is one of the original authors,
recently said that the new supporting evidence that has been gathered slightly
outweighs the criticisms. But at the same time, he said he knew of no research
likely to settle the question once and for all. For a skeptical view of
all this, see Charles Petit, "Pieces of the Rock," in the April/May issue
of Smithsonian
Air & Space magazine. "Most meteorite experts," the article
says, "think last summer's 'discovery' of Martian life was just a load
of hype."
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